Pallet container for front loading



B. FISH PALLET CONTAINER FOR FRONT LOADING Dec. 12, 196'? 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed July 30, 1965 FIG! FIG. 3

INVENTOR BERNARD FISH MM ATTORNEYS Dec. 12, 1957 B. FISH PALLETCONTAINER FOR FRONT LOADING Filed July 30, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG?INVENTOR wllull.

I1 I 50-75 223 FIG. 68 0 (76 BERNARD FISH ATTORNEYS United States PatentOfilice 3,357,628 Patented Dec. 12, 1957 3,357,628 PALLET CONTAINER FORFRONT LOADING Bernard Fish, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor to InterstateContainer Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York FiledJuly 30, 1965, Ser. No. 476,041 7 Claims. (Cl. 229-23) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE The invention is a pallet type shipping container of largesize for unit loading with and shipment of many cartons of ordinarysize. It is designed for easy assembly at the place of loading, andaffords easy loading with both the front and top open. The containercomprises three flat, generally rectangular sheets of corrugated paperboard which are bent to form respectively a bottom, a body, and aseparable front closure. The bottom has upstanding peripheral flanges onall four edges, with special tabs, tongues, and slots to lock the samein upright position. The body has a back panel and two side panelsdimensioned to fit in the bottom, and these panels have anchoringflanges at their lower edges, and top flaps on their upper edges. Thefront closure has a front panel, and flanges at the side edges, and atop flap, but is devoid of flanges at its bottom edge, and thereby isreadily insertable downwardly into the bottom even after the containerhas been fully loaded with heavy cartons, e.g. liquor cartons. Thebottom has hollow cup-shaped pallet feet which are secured beneath thebottom. The container requires no glue or fasteners other than tapeswhich are tightened around the container after it has been filled.

This invention relates to containers, and more particularly to a palletcontainer of large size and especially intended to facilitate frontloading.

Unit loading, or the shipment of smaller parcels and cartons in a largepalleted container, has proved convenient and economical. R.E.A. Express(formerly the Railway Express Agency) offers a substantially lower ratefor such shipment, and supplies the large containers to shippers free ofcost, in order to encourage such unit loading. It has already beensuggested to use expendable containers made of corrugated paper board,with pallet feet at the bottom. The primary object of the presentinvention is to generally improve such containers.

More specific objects are to provide a container which is easy tomanufacture, there being no complicated shapes to make, and which iseconomical in the use of material, it consisting of three relativelysimple rectangular sheets.

In accordance with a further feature and object, the containers aresupplied to the shipper in knocked-down form, with the sheets flat, andtherefore easily shipped and stored. No factory assembly of parts isrequired, the assembly operation being readily performed by the shipperat the loading point. The container parts overlap in such a way that thecontainer when taped is very strong.

Another object is to facilitate loading the container with the smallercartons, which in some cases, for example cartons of liquor, may bequite heavy, and to this end the present container is so designed thatit may be front loaded. The top also is open during loading for maximumconvenience in loading.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specificobjects which will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in theshipping container elements and their relation one to another, as arehereinafter more particularly described in the following specification.The specification is accompanied by a drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a closed shipping containerembodying features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing how the container may be frontloaded, the separate front panel being added later to complete theloaded container;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section drawn to larger scale and takenapproximately on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows the flat, generally rectangular blank from which the bodyis formed;

FIG. 5 shows the flat, generally rectangular blank from which the frontis formed;

FIG. 6 shows the flat, generally rectangular blank from which the bottomis formed;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view showing one corner of the bottom aftererection of the flanges;

FIG. 8 is a section through one form of pallet fool which may be used;and

FIG. 9 shows a flat generally rectangular blank for the body of amodified container in which the top flaps are differently proportioned.

Referring to the drawing and more particularly to FIG. 1, theillustrated pallet container is of large size. In terms of R.E.A.dimensions it may have a combined length and width of say 96 inches, or108 inches, with a height from the floor of up to 60 inches. As iscustomary in this work the container is completed by tapes or bands 14,16 and 18, secured tightly therearound. It will be understood that agreater number of tapes may be used, depending largely on the size ofthe container and on the weight of the goods being shipped. Any of theknown or standard methods 0f taping may be employed, using tapes made ofmetal, fiber or plastic, and secured at their ends in any known fashion,as by means of metal clamps or clips, applied by any of the usualtensioning devices.

The tapes are readily passed beneath the bottom of the container becauseof the pallet feet 20. For smaller containers four pallet feet areadequate, these being located near the corners. For larger containers afifth foot is added, this being located at the center of the bottom ofthe container.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the container comprises a bottom 22, a body 24,and a separable front closure 26, all made of corrugated paper board.The bottom has upstanding peripheral flanges 28 and 30, with meanslocking the same in upright position. The body 24 comprises a back panel32, and two side panels 34 and 36, and, is dimensioned to fit in thebottom 22. The panels have anchor flanges at the lower edges resting onthe bottom, and a part of one such flange is visible at 38. I call theseanchor flanges because when the first objects such as the cartons 40 areloaded into the container they rest on the anchor flanges, and so serveto hold the body 24 more securely in the bottom 22 during the rest ofthe loading operation. The panels 32, 34 and 36 have top flaps 42, 44and 46.

The front closure 26 has a front panel 47 with front flanges 48 at theside edges of the front panel, and has a top flap 50, preferably withtop flanges 52 at the side edges of the top flap 59. It is important tonote that the front closure has no flange at its bottom edge 54, andtherefore is readily insertable within the flange 28 of the bottom andafter the container has been fully loaded.

The pallet feet 20 preferably are secured to the bottom 22 before addingthe body 24. The four top flaps 42, 44, 46 and 50 overlap to form thecontainer top. The tapes are added after the container has been loaded.

The container is shipped and stored by the user in knocked-down form,and except for the pallet feet, comprises essentially three fl-atgenerally rectangular sheets of corrugated paper board, which areillustrated in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 of the drawing. It will be seen that ineach case the sheet is essentially a simple rectangle, so that it may bemade with minimum waste of material.

Referring first to FIG. 4, the body sheet 24 has a length equal to thelength of the container plus twice the width of the container. Ithappens that in the illustrated container the length and width areequal, and therefore the back panel 32 and the side panels 34 and 36 areequal in horizontal dimension. The sheet 24 has a width (the verticaldimension as viewed in FIG. 4) equal to the height of the container plusa top flap plus the width of an anchor flange 38. The sheet 24 is scoredby score lines 56 to define the side panels 34 and 36, with the backpanel 32 therebetween. It has score lines 58 to define the top flaps,and score lines 60 to define the anchor flanges. It is severed ornotched at 62 between the top flaps, and at 64 between the anchorflanges.

The front closure sheet 26 has a length (the vertical dimension asviewed in FIG. equal to the height of the container or front panel 47plus the top flap 50. It has a width (horizontal dimension in FIG. 5)equal to the length of the container, plus two flanges 48. The sheet isscored at 66 between the front panel 47 and the top flap 5t), and it isscored on lines 68 to define the front flanges 48 and the top flanges52. It is notched at 70 between the flanges 48 and the flanges 52.

The bottom sheet 22 (FIG. 6) has a length (horizontal dimension in FIG.6) equal to the length of the container plus two double flanges 30, 31,and it has a width (vertical dimension in FIG. 6) equal to the width ofthe container plus the two single flanges 28. The sheet is scored onlines 72 to define the flanges 28. It is scored on closely adjacentparallel lines 74 to define the middle or top fold of the doubleflanges, and it is scored on lines 76 to define the bottom fold of theouter flange 30. The blank is severed at 78 at the ends of the doubleflanges, to form locking tabs 80 which extend horizontally from the endsof the flanges 28.

The free edges of the double flanges have tongues 82, and the bottom hasmating slots 84 to receive the tongues in order to hold the doubleflanges in erect position. The tabs 80 act as locking tabs where arereceived within the double flanges so that the flanges 28 also are helderect.

This will be seen from examination of FIG. 3 in which flange 30 has beenturned upward; flange 31 has been reversely turned downward; tongue 82has been received in its mating slot; and locking tab 80 is held withinthe double flange 30, 31. FIG. 7 also shows how locking tab 80 is anextension of flange 28, and is received between the walls 30 and 31 ofthe double flange.

FIG. 3 also shows how when the container is completed the front flange48 is outside the side panel 36, and the top flange 52 comes outsideboth, these parts being held by the taut tape 16 therearound.

The bottom is provided with pallet feet, and in oneparticular form theseare mounted through holes indicated at 88 in FIG. 6. In some cases thereare four holes for four feet, but if the container is large a fifth holemay be provided at the center as shown in FIG. 6. The knock-downcontainer kit preferably includes the pallet feet, and one of these isshown in FIG. 8. It comprises an inverted, generally cylindrical cup 90designed to be disposed beneath the bottom 22 of the container, and itfurther comprises a fastener 92 designed to pass through the aforesaidhole 88 and to be received in the cup 90 with a snap fit. Morespecifically, the fastener 92 comprises a flat circular head 94 of largearea, and a tubular shank 96 the lower end of which is enlarged at 98,and longitudinally slit at 100 to make the same resilientlycompressible. In the present case there are four such slits inquarrature. The cup 90 and fastener 92 may be made of any suitablematerial, and in the illustr-ated case they are molded out of a plasticsmaterial.

The cup 90 is molded integrally with a socket portion 102, and withradially disposed reinforce webs 104. It will be understood that theresilient shank 96 is received in the main body with a snap fit, thusanchoring the parts 90 and 92 together and to the bottom 22.

The top flaps are dimensioned to provide at least some overlap and thismay be seen by reference to FIG. 1 in which flap 50 overlaps flap 42, asis indicated by the location of the dotted line 110. For some purposes agreater overlap may be wanted, and this is readily provided byappropriately dimensioning the body blank and/or the front closureblank. FIG. 9 shows the body blank for a container having a length abouttwice its width, so that the back panel 112 is much larger horizontallythan the side panels 114. The anchor flanges are shown at 116. The topflap 118 and the side flaps 120 have been relatively increased invertical dimension as viewed in FIG. 9. The dimensioning is such that inthis case the side flaps 120 come substantially in edge to edge orabutting relation when folded down from the side panels, and the backflap 118 extends over substantially all of the container when foldeddown over the side flaps 120. If the front flap forming a part of thefront closure, not shown, is made equally large, the front and backflaps will fully overlap, but of course the front flap may be reduced toonly partially overlap. In general, the flaps may be proportioned to fitthe needs or wishes of the purchaser in respect to the degree ofoverlap. It is not essential that flap 118 have the same height as flaps120.

The flanges of the bottom have a width of three to four inches, the fourinch width being used for larger containers. The front flanges 48 andthe top flanges 52 similarly have a width of three to four inches, thelarger width being used for larger containers. The anchor flanges alsohave a width of three to four inches, which is found adequate, but thiswidth could be increased, if desired.

The method of assembly will be evident from the foregoing description.Referring to FIG. 6, the flanges 28 are turned upward; the tabs areturned toward one another, and the double flanges are turned upward andreversely downward around the tabs 80 until the tongues 82 are snappedinto the slots 84. The pallet feet are applied through the holes 88,with a snap engagement.

Referring to FIG. 4, the anchor flanges 38 are turned upward; the sidepanels 34 and 36 are folded on lines 56; and the folded sheet is thenslid downward into the flanged bottom. The container is loaded, asindicated in FIG. 2, and the loading operation is facilitated becauseboth the front and the top are open. It is not necessary to raise eachcarton over the top and then downward. The cartons are simply passedthrough the open front of the container, and the open top makes it easyto see and handle the cartons as they are placed in the container.

Referring to FIG. 5, the flanges 48 are folded, and the front closurethen is slid downward inside the flanged bottom, with the flanges 48outside the side panels '34 and 36. The side flaps 44 and 46 are thenturned down; the back flap 42 is turned down over the side flaps; thefront flap 50 is turned down over the back flap 42; and the top flanges52 are folded downward around the front flanges 48 and the side panels34 and 36. The tapes are then applied in any desired manner, usingappropriate tools to tighten and fasten the same.

Any dimensions given above must be considered approximate rather thanexact, bccause in practice the dimensions preferably are adjustedslightly to allow for the thicknesses of the corrugated paper board.

It is believed that the construction and method of assembly and use ofmy improved shippping container, as well as the advantages thereof, willbe apparent from the foregoing detailed description. The new containerinvolves no complicated shapes. The three sheets are essentiallyrectangular, and are economical in the use of material, as well. assimple to manufacture. No assembly of parts is required to be done bythe container manufacturer. The sheets are stacked and shipped in flatcondition, with minimum shipping cost and space requirement. Thecontainer may be made in any desired dimension, including thestandardized dimensions recommended by R.E.A. Express. The readilydetachable front closure is of great assistance in unloading thecontainer at its destination, as well as when loading it at the point oforigin. The container is inexpensive and may be discarded after beingunloaded.

It will be understood that While I have shown and described theinvention in a preferred form, changes may be made without departingfrom the scope of the invention as sought to be defined in the followingclaims. In the claims the terms length and width are used in a relativesense, and refer to two relatively transverse dimensions, rather than torequire that one be greater than the other.

I claim:

1. A pallet-type front-loading shipping container of relatively largesize for unit loading with and shipment of many cartons of ordinarysize, said container comprising a bottom, a body and a separable frontclosure all made of corrugated paper board and designed for easyassembly and loading at the place of loading, said bottom havingupstanding peripheral flanges on all four edges with means locking thesame in upright position, said body having a back panel and two sidepanels dimensioned to fit in the bottom, said side and back panelshaving top flaps at their upper edges and anchor flanges at their loweredges, said front closure having a front panel, front flanges at theside edges of the front panel, and a top flap, said front closure beingdevoid of a flange at its bottom edge and thereby being insertabledownwardly inside the flanges of the bottom after the container has beenfully loaded while the front and top are still open, the top flaps ofthe container overlapping to form the container top, pallet feet securedbeneath the bottom, and said container being completed and the partsthereof being held together by tapes secured therearound without needfor glue or other fasteners other than the tapes.

2. A knocked-down front-loading shipping container of relatively largesize for unit loading with and shipment of many cartons of ordinarysize, said container comprising three flat generally rectangular sheetsof corrugated paper board for respectively forming a bottom, a body, anda separable front closure, said sheets being designed for easy assemblyand loading at the place of loading, said bottom sheet having a lengthequal to the length of the container plus flanges and having a widthequal to the width of the container plus flanges, said sheet beingscored to define said flanges and having means to hold all four flangesin erect position, said body sheet having a length equal to the lengthplus twice the width of the container and having a width equal to theheight of the container plus a to closure flap plus an anchor flange,said sheet being scored to define two side panels with a back paneltherebetween, and to define the top flaps and anchor flanges, said sheetbeing notched between the adjacent edges of the top flaps and betweenthe adjacent ends of the anchor flanges, said front closure sheet havina length equal to the height of the container plus a top closure flap,and having a width equal to the length of the container plus twoflanges, said sheet being scored between the front panel and its topflap and also to define front flanges and top flanges, said sheet beingnotched between the adjacent ends of the front flanges and the topflanges, said front closure sheet being devoid of a flange at its bottomedge and thereby being insertable downwardly inside the flanges of thebottom after the container has been loaded, said container requiring noglue or fasteners other than tapes tightened around the container afterit has been filled.

3. A knockeddown front-loadin shipping container of relatively largesize for unit loading with and shipment of many cartons of ordinarysize, said container comprising three flat generally rectangular sheetsof corrugated paper board for respectively forming a bottom, a body, anda separable front closure, said sheets being designed for easy assemblyand loading at the place of loading, said bottom sheet having a lengthequal to the length of the container plus two double flanges and havinga width equal to the width of the container plus two flanges, said sheetbeing scored to define said flanges and double flanges and being cut atthe ends of the double flanges to form locking tabs at the ends of thesingle flanges adapted to be received within the double flanges, thefree edges of said double flanges having very short tongues and thebottom having slots to receive said tongues to hold all four flanges inerect position, said body sheet having a length equal to the length plustwice the width of the container, and having a width equal to the heightof the container plus a top closure flap, said sheet being scored todefine two side panels with a back panel therebetween, and to define thetop closure flaps, said sheet being notched between the adjacent edgesof the top flaps, said front closure sheet having a length equal to theheight of the container plus a top closure flap and having a width equalto the length of the container plus two flanges, said sheet being scoredbetween the front panel and its top closure flap and also to definefront flanges, said front closure sheet being devoid of a flange at itsbottom edge, and thereby being insertable downwardly inside the flangesof the bottom after the container has been loaded, said containerrequiring no glue or fasteners other than tapes tightened around thecontainer after it has been filled.

4. A knocked-down pallet-type front loading shipping container ofrelatively large size for unit loading with and shipment of many cartonsof ordinary size, said container comprising three flat generallyrectangular sheets of corrugated paper board for respectively forming abottom, a body, and a separable front closure, said sheets beingdesigned for easy assembly and loading at the place of loading, saidbottom sheet having a length equal to the length of the container plus.two double flanges, and having a width equal to the width of thecontainer plus two flanges, said sheet being scored to define saidflanges and double flanges and being cut at the ends of the doubleflanges to form locking tabs at the ends of the single flanges adaptedto be received within the double flanges, the free edges of said doubleflanges having very short tongues and the bottom having slots to receivesaid tongues to hold all four flanges in erect position, said bottomhaving holes to receive pallet feet which are to be secured beneath thesaid bottom, said body sheet having a length equal to the length plustwice the width of the container, and having a width equal to the heightof the container plus a top closure flap plus an anchor flange, saidsheet being scored to define two side panels with a back paneltherebetween, and to define the top closure flaps and anchor flanges,said sheet being notched between the adjacent edges of the top closureflaps and between the adjacent ends of the anchor flanges, said frontclosure sheet having a length equal to the height of the container plusa top closure flap, and having a width equal to the length of thecontainer plus two flanges, said sheet being scored between the frontpanel and its top closure flap and also to define front flanges and topflanges, said sheet being notched between the adjacent ends of the frontflanges and the top flanges, said front closure sheet being devoid of aflange at its bottom edge and thereby bein insertable downwardly insidethe flanges of the bottom after the container has been loaded, saidcontainer requiring no glue or fasteners other than tapes tightenedaround the container after it has been filled.

5. A large container for unit loading as defined in claim 3 in which twoof the four flanges on the bottom are double flanges, and in which thereare locking tabs at the ends of the single flanges which tabs are bentand received within the double flanges, and in which the free edges ofthe double flanges have very short tongues 7 and the bottom has slots toreceive said tongues in order to hold the flanges in an erect position.

6. A large container for unit loading as defined in claim 5 in which twoof the four flanges on the bottom are double flanges, and in which thereare locking tabs at the ends of the single flanges which tabs are bentand received within the double flanges, and in which the free edges ofthe double flanges have very short tongues and the bottom has slots toreceive said tongues in order to hold the flanges in an erect position.

7. A large container for unit loading as defined in claim 4 in whichthere also are hollow cup-shaped pallet feet, and means to secure thesame beneath the bottom of the container.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Carnahan 22923 Van Buren 22923Katz 22934 Huye 22934 George 22923 X Budd 22923 X Minion 22923 Kohlhaas22923 Gagnon 22923 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Examiner.

1. A PALLET-TYPE FRONT-LOADING SHIPPING CONTAINER OF RELATIVELY LARGE SIZE FOR UNIT LOADING WITH THE SHIPMENT OF MANY CARTONS OF ORDINARY SIZE, SAID CONTAINER COMPRISING A BOTTOM, A BODY AN DA SEPARABLE FRONT CLOSURE ALL MADE OF CORRUGATED PAPER BOARD AND DESIGNED FOR EASY ASSEMBLY AND LOADING AT THE PLACE OF LOADING, SAID BOTTOM HAVING UPSTANDING PERIPHERAL FLANGES ON ALL FOUR EDGES WITH MEANS LOCKING THE SAME IN UPRIGHT POSITION, SAID BODY HAVING A BACK PANEL AND TWO SIDE PANELS DIMENSIONED TO FIT IN THE BOTTOM, SAID SIDE AND BACK PANELS HAVING TOP FLAPS AT THEIR UPPER EDGES AND ANCHOR FLANGES AT THEIR LOWER EDGES, SAID FRONT CLOSURE HAVING A FRONT PANEL, FRONT FLANGES AT THE SIDE EDGES OF THE FRONT PANEL, AND A TOP FLAP, SAID FRONT CLOUSURE BEING DEVOID OF A FLANGE AT ITS BOTTOM EDGES AND THEREBY BEING INSERTABLE DOWNWARDLY INSIDE THE FLANGES OF THE BOTTOM AFTER THE CONTAINER HAS BEEN FULLY LOADED WHILE THE FRONT AND TOP ARE STILL OPEN, THE TOP FLAPS OF THE CONTAINER OVERLAPPING TO FORM THE CONTAINER TOP, PALLET FEET SECURED BENEATH THE BOTTOM, AND SAID CONTAINER BEING COMPLETED AND THE PARTS THEREOF BEING HELD TOGETHER BY TAPES SECURED THEREAROUND WITHOUT NEED FOR GLUE OR OTHER FASTENERS OTHER THAN THE TAPES. 